2010 in Review

This is the time of year when all the media outlets put out their year-end reviews and highlights of the past year. This is mine.

New Music

"Crazy Love" - Michael Buble' - More of the same from the crooner from Canada and I like it. With his smooth voice he pays tribute to some classics and performs some new songs, too. This is a good record to play when you just want to relax a bit, but you also might find yourself tapping your feet along to some of the songs.

"Flamingo" - Brandon Flowers - This is the first solo record from the lead singer of The Killers and he does not disappoint. This truly plays like an album, each song tells a story, and the entire collection is an homage to his home town of Las Vegas, Nevada. His clever lyrics and the beautiful arrangements of the songs make this a joy to listen to from start to finish.

"Greatest Hits...So Far!!!" - Pink (or do you say P!nk?) - Okay, this is a bit of a cheat because it is a greatest hits package so it includes songs from previous albums, but it's a fun retrospective, an it includes 2 fantastic new songs, including the infectious "Raise Your Glass."

"100 Miles From Memphis" - Sheryl Crow - I've been a fan of hers for a long time, I enjoy her voice and her songwriting. For this record she takes a step back and delivers a softer sounding record. It's another good record to just chill to. The song "Summer Day" is truly a sweet summer song.

Concerts

B-52's at Ravinia - July 2010 - My friend/coworker Sonny had never been to Ravinia. In early April, when the schedule was posted, we picked a show to see, that show was The B-52's. Sonny wanted the complete Ravinia experience - picnic basket filled with wine and cheese and crackers and snacks. So that's exactly what we did. We had a blast. Truth be told we couldn't see the stage from our vantage point, but we could hear the show and after a couple glasses of wine, and then a couple cocktails, we were up dancing and shaking our cosmic things. As an added bonus, I flirted with a guy during the train ride home.

Pink - Funhouse Tour, Austrailia - Okay, I wasn't at this show but I bought her concert DVD and LOVED it. That girl can put on a show!! Start to finish, she gives 110 percent! You can tell that she's someone who loves to put on a good show.

Margaret Cho - Margaret came to Chicago back in October to perform at the beautiful Chicago Theatre. My dear friend Steve took me as his guest. It was an evening filled with laughs. Margaret was brilliant that night. She was fresh off of her elimination from Dancing With the Stars, so I was curious to see what she would say about it. She held back a bit more than I expected but did share some funny moments about her castmates.

Brandon Flowers - Flamingo tour - November 2010 - He toured in the summer and I waited too long to get tickets. I was disappointed. But as luck would have it, he announced another show in Chicago. I bought tickets in mid-September. At that time I'd just started dating Anthony. When I bought the tickets, I envisioned taking him to the show. And I did. He was not familiar with his music except for the song or two I'd shared with him, but he enjoyed the show as much as I did. It was a special evening.

Events

There is no shortage of street festivals in Chicago, especially during the summer months. The first and the best is Andersonville's Midsommarfest, a big crazy party that is thinly veiled as a Swedish celebration. I don't care what you call it, it's a great time. This year's was a blast. Sadly my camera didn't think so, since after a number of adult beverages I hurled it to the ground. It survived, but it hasn't been the same ever since.

Pride fest/Gay pride weekend was another fun time in Chicago. Dan and Luis play host to a big backyard cookout after the parade. It was a fun afternoon of just relaxing with good friends after watching a parade that went on for a bit too long. The festival that preceeded it was also a great time, filled with fun bands, vendors and of course food and drink.

The other event held in boystown is called Market Days. It's in mid-August, so you get to see a lot of barely-dressed people (for better or for worse), doing stupid things. What's not to love about that?

This year we added a new festival to our list. We attended an Oktoberfest which didn't start off being really fun since the weather was windy and raining, but we fought our way through the crowd, made our way inside the big tent and had a blast dancing to the band 16 Candles. They never disappoint.

Mission Accomplished - A Star is Born! Back on July 18, I posted THIS PIECE OF NEWS, announcing that The G0-Go's had received their Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. This is a project I've been involved with for 8 years. We're still waiting to learn about the placement ceremony and any events planned around it. I'll be there!

I traveled to Los Angeles in July. It was supposed to be for one of the final Go-Go's shows, but due to Jane Wiedlin's serious injury after a fall, the shows were postponed. They will take place next year, most likely tied to the Star placement ceremony. However, I went through with my trip and had a great time wandering around Los Angeles. I did some touristy things, and I saw a few friends, and made a couple new ones.

My second trip of the year was to Miami to attend the wedding of a family friend. The gorgeous Bride was Giselle, the daughter of my former manager. I've known Giselle since before she was born. I'm close with her Mom, Alina. I consider them my Cuban family. My date for the weekend was my sweet friend Denise. We spent a long weekend soaking up the sun and the sights of South Beach. The wedding was breath-taking, the bride was gorgeous, and it was so nice seeing my Cuban family. Denise and I also made friends with the wanna-be cast of Jersey Shore during a drink-fest at the Clevelander Hotel. Thankfully the only fatality that weekend was the washcloth that got thrown out of the bathroom window. Poor washcloth.

Anthony - Perhaps you've seen his name once or twice during this post. Perhaps you've seen his name a couple times in other posts in my blog. ;) He came into my life back in August. It has been a joy having someone with whom I connect on so many levels become a part of my life. Getting to know him has been a blessing. Sadly, he's moving in a couple weeks and at that point our relationship will end. This isn't to say that he won't always be in my life. I will always consider him a friend. I've learned a lot from him, and I would like to believe that I've made an impact on his life and he has learned from me.

iPad - I've had this thing for 5 days and I love it. It was definitely an impusle purchase but one that I don't regret. I'm still learning about how to use it. Anthony is well-versed in all things gadget, so in the next week or so, we're going to sit down and he's going to show me all the cool things it can do.

That's my list. Here's hoping your year was filled with many highlights. The way things stand right now, 2011 is going to be off to an interesting start. Here's hoping that overall, it's a great year, for everyone!

Proper Music

File Under: 2008 in Review

I was going to do my "Top 10 Albums of 2008" list but when I surveyed what I purchased this year, I only bought 9 albums. So instead of ranking them, I'm just going to share with you what I bought this year and comment as necessary.

Detours - Sheryl Crow. I have a thing for female singers and Sheryl Crow's voice is one that I am particularly fond of. She's had her ups and downs in the past couple of years but has such a good spirit. I was pleased when she released this album and it didn't disappoint. This goes back to her earlier days, a bit more folk sounding with really clean production.

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings - Counting Crows. I didn't like them when they first rose to fame but later on I came to appreciate their sound. Adam Duritz, the lead singer has a lot of emotion in his voice when he sings and his lyrics are fantastic. This album was written during a time when he was going through a depression so a lot of the songs have a darker feel to them.

Funplex - The B-52's. The quintessential party band. Who does not LOVE The B-52's. Sure, this album sounds a lot like the rest of their catalog but they do what they know best. This is definitely a feel-good album and puts me in a happy mood.

X - Kylie Minogue. Cute, Euro dance pop. Nothing deep here, just fun.

Hard Candy - Madonna. Not my favorite Madonna album but I suppose I would lose my gay card if this wasn't in my collection. I think I've listened to the album twice since purchasing it back in the spring.

Crayons - Donna Summer. This purchase was more of a curiosity than anything. Back in the late 70s/Early 80's, I loved Donna and remember begging for an advance on my allowance so that I could go buy her album "Bad Girls." This isn't a bad album, at all. It's nice that she was able to release an album and have some success with it.

Funhouse - Pink. I really like this album. It's sassy and fun, the lyrics are great. I've played the song "So What" a lot these past couple of weeks.

Day and Age - The Killers. I JUST bought this album tonight. I LOVE The Killers but was previously preoccupied and didn't get it when it was released back around Thanksgiving. This is one that I'll listen to from start to finish many times. It has a really nice flow.
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19 - Adele. I adore this album but unfortunately, for now I can't listen to it. It was kind of a centerpiece of my (brief) relationship and the songs make me sad. With that said, I think Adele has a gorgeous voice and writes beautiful lyrics. The production values are simple and don't drown out the voice. She's been nominated for multiple Grammy awards, I hope she wins them all. She deserves it.

B-52's coming to Chicago

File Under: Party Band!

I found out that the B-52's will be playing a show in Chicago on Thursday May 1. It's the day before my birthday. I think that's a grand way to start a weekend so I'm going to buy myself a ticket for the show, and schedule the next day off from work and kick off a long weekend while enjoying one of my favorite bands.

Happy Things

File Under: Stuff to smile about

Enough ranting and whining, this post is about things that make me happy.

The B-52's. I've always loved them, their music is always fun and it makes you want to move. Finally after 16 years, they're releasing a CD of all new music. Funplex is due out at the end of March. The title track, Funplex, is already available on iTunes. I love it. A second single, Hot Corner, is available on Rhapsody (free, for a limited time). YAY!

Pasticceria Natalina. This is a bakery that opened in my neighborhood about a year ago. It's run by an adorable young couple, Natalie and Nicolas and they make the most exquisite bakery treats that are anything but your typical bakery goods. Delicious cookies, tasty tarts, gorgeous little cakes, savory breads and in the summer they also make homemade gelato in assorted flavors. My favorite item from their shop are the lemon cookies.

Saturday, my dear friends Dan (http://www.41north87west.blogspot.com/) and Luis hosted a small dinner party and I brought dessert from Pasticceria Natalina. It was a chocolate cake with raspberry filling, draped in tinted white chocolate. Here's a picture of it!

Pretty, huh?

Next time you're in the Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago, check out Pasticceria Natalina at 5406 N. Clark Street. But not on Monday or Tuesday, they're closed. :)

Feast of Fools podcast. I could try to describe it myself but I'll let the guys do it in their words, swiped directly from their website.

"The Feast of Fools podcast features cocktails, gossip, news and interviews with some of the worlds most eclectic celebrities, newsmakers, and musicians. Hosted by the flaming blue Fausto Fernós with his boyfriend Marc Felion, the Feast of Fools has been in the top 50 downloaded comedy podcasts in the world and currently ranks as iTunes’ #1 gay podcast."

A couple years ago, I subscribed and would occasionally listen. I was always entertained but hadn't made it a habit to download the podcasts. My friend Dave from Tampa discusses them often so I made a point to listen regularly and now I don't miss a show. What's kind of cool is that they guys live in my neighborhood and we all belong to the same gym so I've had the chance to chat with them both and they're two of the sweetest guys you could know. Here's a picture of me with them taken in the summer of 2006. I was working a booth at our neighborhood street fair and they came by.

Check them out at http://www.feastoffools.net/ and subscribe to their podcast, available on iTunes.

Sheryl Crow - "Detours." This is her latest CD. It's a return to her roots. After an eventful couple of years (a breakup, a bout with cancer, adoption, a move and a reunion with the man who produced her first album), she's back with a CD that is truly a labor of love. It's not an album you'll play and immediately start dancing to. Instead, you'll listen to the lyrics and thing about what she went though without feeling as though she's been a victim. I've always admired her as a musician and and artist. I'm not the least bit disappointed with this CD.

March. Yes, I like the month of March, because it's not February. It's kind of like the light at the end of the cold winter tunnel. Spring begins in less than 3 weeks and while that's no guarantee that we've seen the last of cold weather and snow, it means that whatever we get is short-lived. I'm ready for spring.

Your turn! Tell me what makes you happy. Go on, you know you want to!